Poland: Public Finances Even More Complicated

The issue of public finance in Poland has been regulated on the grounds of numerous legal acts and considering various hierarchical levels of law sources. In relation to the financial management of both state and local government units, public finance has its essential foundations in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Recent events related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing economic crisis have resulted in a great deal of attention being paid to broader issues relating to public finance in Poland, including fiscal sustainability, public debt, and budget balance. This comprised activity in the field of new legislative solutions, as well as a different approach to the application of specific solutions in the practice of shaping and implementing the budget of the state and budget local government unit. The changes that were introduced were aimed at mitigating the economic consequences of the pandemic; however, it should be assumed that many of them will become a permanent feature of the legal order in Poland.

Keywords: public finances, budget, fiscal rule, budget balance, public debt deficit